Studying the solutions to tactical puzzles is one of the best ways to improve your tactical awareness and become better at finding tactics in your own games.
How to Study the Solution
First, try to solve the puzzle yourself, but don’t spend too long on it. Remember, the purpose is not to solve the puzzle, but to study the solution.
If you solve a tactical puzzle and move on right after checking the solution, you miss an important learning opportunity. Instead, slow down and try to understand how and why the tactic works.
I’ll take you through a few examples of how to do this.
Next Lesson: Tactics Exercise #1